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. 2000 Sep 1;41(3):213–225. doi: 10.1186/BF03549630

Monitoring Antibodies to Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in Sow Colostrum – a Tool to Document Freedom of Infection

Analys av antikroppar gentemot Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae - er metod att dokumentera infektionsfrihet

E Rautiainen 1,2,✉, V Tuovinen 3, K Levonen 4
PMCID: PMC7996419  PMID: 11126571

Abstract

In a survey in Finland in 1995, 14919 colostral whey samples from 530 farrowing herds were analysed by a monoclonal blocking-ELISA to detect antibodies to Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae). Antibodies were detected in 274 (1.8%) samples and in 42 herds (7.9%). The median prevalence of sows with antibodies in seropositive herds was 28.2% (range, 2.7–100%). According to clinical and pathological follow-up in finishing herds in 1996, all of the farrowing herds which were seronegative in 1995, were truly non-infected with M. hyopneumoniae. In acutely infected herds, samples collected earlier than 2 h after farrowing were 3 times more likely to contain antibodies than samples collected 2–12 h after farrowing (odds ratio, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.4–6.6). Repeated freezing or spoilage of the colostrum samples did not cause biologically relevant problems for the ELISA. Antibodies to M. hyopneumoniae were shown to persist up to 3 years in some sows. As a conclusion, colostrum samples were very sensitive samples for the screening of herds for M. hyopneumoniae infection and possibly also for a regular surveillance.

Keywords: monoclonal, blocking-ELISA, survey, sensitivity, specificity, sample size, sampling scheme, persistence, antibodies, health, control, programme

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